Hello everyone!
Navigating writing and teaching sermons the reasons I find necessary for having a process of interpretation is that "Today is not the same as yesterday"- personally, I find that this reasons accompanies many of the following reasons; words don't mean the same thing, and that customs and norms vary over time. Understanding cultural norms, time period customs, and the original language is paramount to understanding meaning in that each of these elements affect the impact and meaning of the Scriptural language being used. Understanding the time period, understanding the significance directly impacts what a verse, sentence, book, or chapter means. The weight of this understanding is incredible as one could easily misinterpret a scripture and point a person in the complete wrong direction.
While I have not heard it described as the Fourfold Approach, a similar approach has been described in the main books in my preaching class, titled "Biblical Preaching". The textbook takes a deep expository approach to scripture - the way that I've been taught to examine scripture includes many of the elements of the Fourfold Approach. Understanding context, and the original application allows us to teach what the scripture meant in the ancient world, while applying and making the scripture applicable and current to present day! However, the questions looked at here allow a deeper analysis and are questions that I'm going to copy specifically where are we in the agenda of the specific book. It's easy to pull scripture out without linking it to the whole of the book.
The aspect of context that I find most ignored in modern interpretation today is often "Where are we in the Bible story?". While I understand many sermons and sermon series are topical dependent on the church and environment, often a lot of context gets lost because modern day teachers focus deeply on the modern day application without explaining the original application and how it would have applied to the original people. This context gets overlooked often for a lens that only points to what is present day and can take away from the original intent of the words.